Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A few weeks ago I was given the honour of 'Stylish Blogger' award from Kittee at Running Half Crazy.

I've been following Kittee for a bit and I find her inspiring...she's planning to run a whole bunch of 1/2 marathons and it's a level of crazy that I can relate to.

Although I am completely thrilled that someone noticed my blog (and she isn't even family), this award comes with rules that I seem to have difficulty getting my head around:

﻿Rule 1. Make a post and link back to the person who tagged you with the Award.-Check

Rule 2.Share 7 things about yourself. Yes 7-uh...ummmm..hmmm

Rule 3.Award 7 GREAT bloggers the Award...yeah, well, about that...Rule 4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they have won....see above

If you know me, you know that I'm the kinda person that throws chain letters in the recycling, I'm the one that deletes forwards even after threats of unending bad luck, I'm the one that doesn't call when I say I will...that last one is really sad.

It's not that I'm ungrateful for the award...Kittee, I really appreciate the nod! It's not that I don't know of 7 great blogs, I read great blogs all the time. Check out my blog roll, I'm actually a bit of a blog stalker.

It's just that most of them have been awarded this already and also, I'm a little lazy about this kinda stuff. I kinda new on the bloggy block, so I don't know the proper blog award etiquette.

So, you can tell why it's taken me several weeks to get around to this post. Also...I really could not think of 7 things of interest about myself, except that I'm lazy and I don't do chain letters and I don't do forwards..I guess I'm down to five now, right??

I'll get to them...I have to think a little bit longer. Who thought talking about myself would be so difficult?

In the meantime....I want to thank you, my readers. Thanks for the comments and for keeping this fun for me. I know there are a few of you out there reading this and stalking me quietly. That's okay...I understand. I would love to hear from you though. If you don't want to follow publicly at least send me a message once in a while, or ask a question. I'd love your feedback on the blog/running/parenting etc.

I would like to do a giveaway soon....as in...give my readers something for free!! But I wanted to have a few more followers in order to make it difficult more fun!!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

When it comes to a family household, the kitchen is the heart. The kitchen is where most important things happen. Not just making food and eating,but the creating, learning, talking and enjoying family time. Some of the best heart to heart talks have happened over our kitchen table.

When it comes to kitchen duty I am usually the one to take the reigns, begrudgingly. I don't like the planning, the shopping, the deciding what to make. With a very busy schedule, kitchen time is usually 'crazy mom' time.

Somebody recently asked me if I liked to cook. I couldn't answer that question. Do I actually like to cook? Hmm, umm, well...
The truth is I'm good at it. I'm a good cook...when I want to be. But do I like it???

That question got me thinking about the effort (or lack there of) that I've been putting in the kitchen for my family. I work hard to organize, plan, shop and make food everyday, but I don't work hard to make things special. This past weekend I thought of doing something special for my loved ones this Valentine's Day, and you know the saying...the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach....is true!

On Sunday morning I got up early and ran my scheduled 11k (btw...that is the longest run I've ever done to date...just wanted to get that in there), showered, changed, got lunch going for the kids. Then I turn myself over to my inner Martha.

During the course of the day I made my masterpiece lasagna...seriously this thing was a piece of art. I almost cried when I took it out of the oven. Just the fact that I took a picture of my food should tell you how proud I was of this. And...it tasted amazing!

The girls and I also made over100 cookies for Dee's class party.

There were so many of these things. I don't know what I was thinking. The worst of it was that I sent her to school with 60 cookies and she came home with 30. We are going to be heart-shaped ourselves after eating all these!
I also managed to make a lemon meringue pie for my sweetie, it's his favourite. All in all, I was in the kitchen for over 5 hours. (I took a short break when the in-laws dropped by for coffee, which I desperately needed.)

The moral of this is that no matter how much bitchin' I do over my kitchen duties, I really do like to cook for my family. I enjoy creating something that others (and I) will enjoy. For all my hard work I was rewarded with these....

The other moral of the story is....don't run 11k then stand on your feet on ceramic tile of your kitchen for 5 hours...my legs were crying the blues to me by the end of the night. Lesson learned.﻿

Friday, February 4, 2011

There has been a lot of changes in my life over the past few weeks. You might noticed that I've updated my profile to include 'writer'.

I just recently changed jobs and started a full time position that has the word 'writer' in my job title. I'm thrilled with this new opportunity. I have been out of school for over 11 years, and finally I have landed a job in my 'field'. It was a step in the right direction for my career and for my family.
That being said, I was in for a lot of change.

Going from part time to full time

Different hours

Commuting 10mins longer every day to a new city

New job responsibilities

New manager and co-workers

Figuring out what to wear on casual Fridays

This list goes on, but you get the idea.

It was a difficult decision to leave my previous jobs, yes, that's plural, I held two part time jobs. I had close friends as co-workers and worked in such supportive and creative environments. It was sad to leave. I was nervous to start somewhere new but I knew that I would be okay. Afterall, when I set my mind to something, I've been pretty successful...just look at my running.

Sorry to link this all back to running, but it really is a mental thing and it can effect all parts of your life. I was thinking today, on my extra long commute, that I have really changed some major things in my life over the past few years.

I was always the type of person that compared myself to other people and their accomplishments. Especially when it came to anything athletic, I always thought "I wish I could do that". Now I realize that I can do that...and more.

If you set your mind to something, set goals and have a clear plan to follow through with them, then you should be successful. I kinda think that career goals are just like running goals. You prepare yourself for the race. You learn from your mistakes. You keep improving on the good stuff. You celebrate even the smallest victories.

So although I've been on the job a total of 4 days (Wednesday was a 'snow day' and I worked from home), I think this change has done me good.

Change is scary, but change can be soooo good too. It makes us realize that we are capable of so much more than we ever thought.

Other than your clothes...what have you changed to make yourself a better you?